VIDEO: Explosion in Southern Beirut earlier today

Lebanese security officials say an explosion has hit a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in southern Beirut, setting fire to a building and sending plumes of smoke over the area.

The officials say Tuesday's blast in Haret Hreik district took place yards away from where a car bomb struck earlier this month, killing five people.

The officials say it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, nor if there were any casualties.

A Lebanese television station broadcasting footage from the blast site, showing hundreds of people gathered in the area and fire fighters tackling the blaze.

The bombing is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Shiites in Lebanon, apparently in retaliation for the militant group Hezbollah fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad's troops.